Zao, Yamagata

We left Singapore on a 6.30am ANA flight, NEX to tokyo, boarded the Yamagata Skinkansen, arriving in Yamagata Station at 19:43. It was so wonderful that the Hotel Metropolitan Yamagata (ホテルメトロポリタン山形) was connected via the JR Station. Great hotel which was even linked to he S-PAL supermarket on level 1.

Day trip to 銀山温泉 Ginzan Onsen. The hometown of "Oshin" and the house that inspired the anime "Sprited Away"

Day trip to Yamadera, 1000 steps up to the mountain temple and we were blessed with a clear day for a fantastic view

A great seafood centric izakaya where 十四代 was still in stock. We had a ebi-age tossed with a chant, oysters steamed in sake and their popular grilled seafood set

A cool spinning sake dispenser @ Beni no Kura (紅の蔵) in yamagata. Relatively some store which sell all the local snacks and produced

Exploring the various slopes of Zao Onsen Ski Area. We had a bright sunny day 1 with amazing views, a semi-wet day 2 with snow blizzares (-20C with super strong winds) and a cloudy day 3

Forest Inn Sangoro (三五郎) was one of our fav spots for lunch. The A-frame stuctures just looks so inviting in the snow. Cosy fireplaces, good food and sake inside. Slopes around this area are relatively shorter but more powdery

We loved Le Vert Zao hotel for their Japanese homey feel and great staff. Dinner was not inclued in our booking, but we ended up having 3 out of 4 dinners here. Sukiyaki, Shabu and Japanese-style course dinner ... all with yamagata beef.

Free hotel transfer to an outdoor onsen about 5 mins walk from Le Vert. Great feeling in the open-air pool with heavy snowing. Wished the water was hotter. Dinner at Sushi Kiraku a short walk to town.

Day 4 on the slopes did not last too long. On the 3rd warm-up run, my board tips on something and had a fall which fractured my left foot and ankle.
The question everyone asked me was how did I get back to Singapore ? I would have to say that it was actually a breeze thanks to the brillant coordination of the staff at Le Vert Zao Hotel, Taxi Company, Station masters of the various JR East stations, Narita Airport Staff, ANA ground staff and flight crew. There was always someone at each transit to help to all the way till we got on the plane. Impressive.